👋 Greetings, dear readers.

How are you doing? It’s been a week since I got back to my little routines in London, and it felt good despite the low temperatures, someone here didn’t get the Spring memo! I had a couple of Don Quijote performances that I really enjoyed, and seemingly, so did the audience. It was definitely a good way to celebrate World Theatre Day week and, as usual, I feel very grateful to have made it part of my life.

OK guys, disclaimer! This week, I get a little bit serious and political. It’s been a while since my last rant over here. Feel free to skip if you’re not in the mood for this. Just a reminder: don't take my words as gospel. This is a subjective space, and I’m simply sharing my personal reflections with you.

The topic I want to discuss was sparkled by a couple of posts tackling it, with different approaches, by two different (and equally brilliant) improvisers: Diego Ingold and Neil Curran.

While Diego’s post is in Spanish, you can read the original it here, I translated it into English and it’s available here. As for Neil’s, you can read it in his blog through this link.

Yes, yes, I know. I’m asking you to read even more things when you’ve barely started reading this. But bear with me. Neil’s post is about how we deal with accountability in a community (in this case, improv), while Diego’s is about the aftermath of the lack of accountability and the impact on those affected by it.

The improv community speaks loud and proud about safe spaces, holding a big banner of social justice that often blinds their own actions. It’s good that when it comes to misogyny, homophobia, transphobia, and racism, we are all on the same page, right? If someone openly holds the same talking points about transgender people that J.K. Rowling, that person will not be invited to join safe spaces. Rightfully so. Even if they are doing it in their (not so) private circles.

But, sometimes, people in positions of power, you can bend those stances a little bit. Specially when it comes to politics…

Geopolitical matters are where things get “interesting”. I think we can all agree that the Russian incursion into Ukrainian territories by military force is reprehensible. I have dear friends from both Ukraine and Russia, now living outside their respective countries, and I’ve listened to them on my recent trip to Germany. Because it’s within the artistic bubble of Playback Theatre, Ukrainians and Russians might share spaces; but while relationships might be cordial, if Ukrainians are reluctant to share projects with Russian playbackers, the Russians understand and respect the decision because they don’t agree with the actions of a country they didn’t choose to be born in.

With that said, if you run an international event, you might think twice and do a lot of research before having a Russian guest participating on a position of power (as a member of a panel, a facilitator, etc.), because that would potentially create an unsafe space for some people. After all, the country has been banned from major international events. Do you agree? If so, what are you doing to maintain safe spaces for other affected communities?

If you deplatform those who advocate for conversion therapy or glorify the actions of Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the United States, yet welcome those who actively justify the genocide and starvation of civilians, mostly children, in the Middle East, your social justice stance is a facade. Accountability that is applied only when it aligns with western convenience or sensibilities is no accountability at all. It is, quite simply, the toleration of racism, colonialism and supremacism.

That escalated quickly, I know, but sometimes we are oblivious to the ways we might be enabling this. Whether on a wide scale or in a local setting, you don’t have to be a “bad person” or a racist to commit an act of misconduct. I’m aware that it's often the result of the systemic values we've internalized. It might be willingly (sometimes it is, because people have the potential of being c*nts) or not, and we could be discussing ethical spectrum all day long. At the end of the day it’s your lack of accountability, when a concern is raised, that might end up hurting people, the community and yourself.

Turning to Diego’s point, there is also the loneliness and pain of those who address these wrongdoings, those who point at the Emperor and call out his nakedness. Those who dare to raise a finger often see their safe space turned into a minefield of gaslighting. For convenience, most will ignore the blinding evidence and will continue to align with those in positions of power for the sake of connections, opportunities, and visibility. Every moth loves a lamp post.

What kind of community are we becoming if we ostracise those who raise concerns rather than seeking accountability? As Neil noted in his post, accountability doesn’t have to be punishment. Rather, it allows us to address underlying issues and repair the cracks in the foundation of our community, making it stronger.

As for those ostracised for being too much like Jiminy Cricket: where, and more importantly, who, is a safe space?

📆 What is coming up

• 🇬🇧 3rd to 6th of April - Playback Theatre Core Training Intensive (London, UK). I´ll be co-running, with London Playback, a core training intensive during the easter weekend. A perfect oportunity to learn Playback Theatre from ground level. Get on the waiting list.

• 🇬🇧 10th of April - Acaprov at Shoreditch Balls (London, UK). You’d be a fool if you miss April’s new improvised a cappella musical by Acaprov. Hop into the fun.

• 🇬🇧 15th of April - Not GCSE Drama (London, UK). After a long hiatus, the clueless teenagers are back for another GCSE drama exam and they will do their best to use their creativity to get excellent grades. It will be at The Signal Pub, hosted by 🌲 The Forest 🌳 Improv Comedy.

• 🇬🇧 1st to 4th of May - Two Islands Playback Theatre Gathering (Buckden, UK). Join playbackers from UK and Ireland on a long weekend of camaraderie, connection, and, of course, Playback theatre. Check the information.

📚 🎮 🎥 📺 The geeky dessert

I’m aware I’ve ranted about a dense topic with a pessimistic tone, perhaps as pessimistic as this week’s geeky dessert. Set in a world where humans are gone (maybe because of lack of accountability), it’s up to the creatures left behind to make everything thrive again.

Pokémon Pokopia is a global phenomenon right now. No one expected this Minecraft clone with Animal Crossing mechanics to take over the world as hard as it did, but it truly is a great game.

Of course, I caved in.

I’ve been playing for decades, but I never really got into the Pokémon games. I did try some on emulators, but never got hooked. Pokopia is making a hell of an introduction to the franchise for me, and it’s kind of working.

This game is not only a huge sandbox that is pushing the boundaries of creativity all over the world, (people already have made jaw dropping builds) but its bleak narrative, propelled by a series of quests, achieves a level of immersion I never found in these kinds of building games. Also, this is getting me interested in trying other titles in the franchise.

The best part of this world is that every creature is friendly with each other, despite its differences. That leaves behind a lingering thought: maybe everything would be better if humans were gone.